Tale Of Two
by JynxedOne
Summary: Chaldra is a beautiful land filled with Magic, Mystery, and Creatures long forgotten. When one creature makes it's presence known again It'll be up to a pair of sisters to bring stability back to their home.
1. Chapter 1: The Return

**AN: I've always wanted to write a series of stories putting characters from different fairy tales and mythology into the same world. I just discovered the Fairy Tale section on the site and had to try writing something. **

A brisk winter wind blew as the sun began to rise over the Kingdom of Chaldra. A large island Country known for it's beauty, medicine, and diverse wildlife. This time of the month was when the Country's ships would finally be returning home from their long voyages to other Kingdoms. Down by the docks, one women stood for hours, eagerly awaiting for their return.

Book in hand the petite young woman, wearing nothing but a small jacket and scarf, was seemingly impervious to the chill of the ongoing winter. Her face lighting up as she saw a rather large man making his way off of a docked ship, and headed in her direction.

"Oliver!", she yelled, whilst running into his warm arms. "It's been too long. How was your trip?", she said, practically screaming at him. Oliver let out a hardy laugh and patted the woman's head.

"Oh Nyssa. It's wonderful to see your beautiful face as soon as I leave that ship. Though, let us be honest. You're far more interested in seeing if I found what you asked me to look for then you are in seeing me". Nyssa tried her best to hold a shocked expression, but, couldn't stand there and lie.

"I'm a terrible person.", she mumbled with her head dropped, facing the icy snow covered ground.

"Ha ha ha, stop the dramatics. I did manage to find them". Nyssa's face once more lit up as she wrapped her arms around his face and squeezed tightly. "I'll deliver them to you before lunch. You have my word. Nyssa planted a kiss on Olivier's cheek before saying goodbye and departing back to town.

Morning started early for the people of Chaldra. Everyone from the hunters to the children awaking for school would arise each morning with the sun. Each person Nyssa passed would stop what they were doing and greet her with a smile. She was a beloved school teacher with many admirers. The rare mix of beauty, brains, and compassion that drew everyone towards her. Men would do whatever they could in order to try and win her affection. Unfortunately for them it was always to no avail as Nyssa was much happier spending her time teaching the children and reading then she was trying to find a husband.

Before heading to the school Nyssa had to stop home and pick up a few things. Her lesson plans, a few books, and her little sister, who was no doubt still fast asleep. She knocked gently on her sister's bedroom door.

"Anna. Are you awake? It's time to go to the school...Anna?", she said while slowly opening the door. Only to have a pillow strike her face. "Savanna! Get up and get dressed this instant! You promised to help me at the school today and I will not allow you to back out of your commitment". More pillows found their way to Nyssa's face. Increasingly annoyed by her sister's behavior she proceeded to unload her frustration with one of the pillows that had been thrown at her. "Get up and get dressed! I'll go make you some tea, then we're leaving". Anna sluggishly picked herself up off her bed, her scarlet hair messy and unkempt, with a bit of drool hanging on her mouth. Her eyes still stuck shut Anna carefully tried making her way through her messy room to her closet to find something to wear. Immediately tripping over her own feet she found the cutest outfit on the floor next to her bed. After giving her hair a quick brush she made her way into the Kitchen where her sister, and a nice cup of tea, were waiting for her.

"Morning.", Anna casually said, as if nothing had happened. Nyssa, still rather annoyed by her handed Anna a cup of tea. Which she immediately tried to gulp down. A big mistake.

"Anna, it's still hot"! Anna couldn't hear anything her sister was saying over her own cries of pain. "What am I going to do with her?", Nyssa thought out loud. She blew on her sister's tea and headed into the other room to finish collecting what she came home to get. Anna stood in the kitchen patting her tongue with her hand trying to relieve some of the pain before taking another, smaller, sip. Nyssa quickly returned and wrapped a long scarf around her sister's neck. "Come on Anna. I'm the teacher. I cannot allow myself to be late". After mocking her sister, Anna grabbed her jacket and followed behind her.

"Good morning Nyssa".

"You're looking beautiful this morning Nyssa"!

"Does this happen every day?", Anna asked. Clearly annoyed by the amount of attention her sister was getting. She only smiled and locked her arm around her little sister's. Contrary to how they acted towards each other this morning the two were very close. They were inseparable as children and even more so as adults.

"I can't thank you enough for offering to, Ugh!", Nyssa was shoved to the ground, and her bag taken by a hooded man, running as fast as he could to get away.

"Oh no, we're not having any of that". Anna took off one of her shoes and with a running start skillfully shot it at the thief's head, causing him to crash onto a pile of wood. Hopping on one foot to avoid getting her now exposed foot even more wet from the snow, Anna stood over the thief. She retrieved her shoe and Nyssa's bag then proceeded to slap the man in his face and began to walk back to her sister. But not before turning around and kicking him as hard as she could in the gut. "Make me throw my shoe. Next time you won't be so lucky". Some passerby apprehended the thief and took him away, complementing Anna on stopping him. To which she took great pride in.

The schoolyard was buzzing with kids playing in the snow, trying to enjoy every second they could before having to begin class. Right away Nyssa noticed an older man talking to a group of the kids.

"Oh no. Anna, would you go get them? Lord knows what nonsense Mr. Gold is filling their heads with". Complying with her sisters wishes Anna made her way to the group of kids surrounding Mr. Gold. He's the oldest citizen in all of Chaldra and is a bit loose in the head. He goes around town telling crazy stories he swears are true.

"Ohhh Anna! Great! Now I can start the story"! Anna was guilty of following Mr. Gold around sometimes so she could hear some of his crazy tales. She liked them. Even if nobody else did. "Alright, so all of you know about the Dark Forest right"?

"Yeah, it's were the hunters go to get the Draco and Drayin fruits to make medicine with".

"Very good young man! But does anyone know why people are forbidden from going in there? Everyone except the hunters that is"? None of the kids knew why. And neither did Anna. She heard that it was dangerous but never knew the reason. "The answer. Reindeer". The kids all laughed.

"Reindeer? The things that pull Santa's slay? You're kidding right"? Mr. Gold got right in the kids face.

"Kidding?! You wish I was kidding, boy. Reindeer don't pull a fat man's slay around, no no no, Reindeer are bloodthirsty predators. Very territorial and will attack anyone that goes into their land. The Dark Forest covers almost half of this island. Chaldra was built where it was specificity to avoid the dangers of the Reindeer, as well as the other beasts that lurk in the forest, and still have access to the rare fruits and plants that grow here. Why else do you think only trained hunters are allowed in there? All starting to make sense now right"? The kids were visibly shaking at this point. Anna on the other hand was loving this and wanted to hear more.

"Pfft. That doesn't sound scary". Mr. Gold's face took a very serious turn. He crouched down to eye level of the boy.

"Oh that doesn't scare you eh? Then how about I tell you about the other creature that lives in the forest? You ever hear about the demon Krampus"? All the children cringed when that name came up. "The demon who steals bad little kids. When I was a boy he came to this town and took the children. I managed to escape him, but I'll never forget the sound of the bells I heard before he showed up".

"Ahh!", the children all screamed as the school bell rang and ran inside to the classroom. Anna was the last to leave and noticed the look on Mr. Gold's face. The look of genuine fear. However, Nyssa was calling her, so she wouldn't wonder about it now.

Nyssa's class ran until lunch and then she and the students all took a lunch break. During which Oliver arrived with a rather large crate for Nyssa. Before he set off last month Nyssa asked him about collecting some books she heard where in the area he was going. Old books on magic and old legends. She thought there would only be a hand full of tomes. She was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number there were. It would take month and months to sort though them all. Countless pages of knowledge collected from every side of the world.

Magic was subject of much debate in Chaldra. While some believed in the good it could be used for others only saw it as a way one person could take control of everything. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that. What many don't realize is that magic isn't something just anyone can pick up and do. It's not chanting crazy words. It takes a special type of person to be able to master such power. Nyssa herself had no intention on actually practicing the art but rather wanted to learn about it. Figure out how it works, why can only certain people control it, crafting new magic. She had a very science orientated mind and thirsted for this sort of thing.

Anna was helping her sister separate the books while she ate lunch. Unlike her sister she had no interest in studying, reading, science, any of that stuff. She wanted to spend her time outside, exploring, traveling, riding on the backs of wild animals!

"Hm"? Anna grabbed a book titled Krampus. Something about the look Mr. Gold had after talking about it peeked her curiosity. '_Caw caw!_'. Anna's heart nearly jumped out of her throat. She looked to the window beside her and saw a rather large Crow perched, looking right at her. All the birds migrate during the winter. So why was this one here? Not wanting, or really caring enough, Anna forgot about the bird and began reading about Krampus. She read throughout her entire lunch break without realizing it. Nyssa told her she could leave if she wanted. Which Anna was happy to do. She was tired and wanted to go back to bed. She didn't care that it was past noon.

Anna took the Krampus book home with her. She was finding it hard to put down. She always loved hearing of old legends and folktales. Krampus was something she really never heard of before, and he was pretty terrifying. He was best described as the Anti Santa. He would come during the night and steal bad children. He used bells to signal his arrival and terrify his victims. He resembled a demon, standing nearly seven feet tall. There was brief mention that he was the only creature, demon or otherwise, that Reindeer would obey. A rather fascinating tale, and Anna was going to enjoy finishing the book. For now though, she needed a nap. '_Crackle_!' A hit of thunder echoed across the sky. Anna loved thunderstorms, found them oddly soothing. Usually. This time there was no rain accompanying it. Just a hit of thunder and a flash of lightning every few minutes. Not thinking much on it Anna passes out on her bed.

The school day was almost done and Nyssa and her students were beginning to clean up their classroom.

"Ah!", came a scream from outside. Nyssa instructed all the students to hide under their desks while she went out to see what was happening. She ran outside to see a man flying through the air and crashing _threw _the brick wall of a nearby house. Immediately after, the sound of a growl, seemingly from a large creature, could be heard. The sounds began coming from all directions and got louder and louder. Panicking, Nyssa had no idea what to do, no idea what was happening. Her first and only thought was how she could keep the children safe. She turned back to the school, and stood eye to eye with a Reindeer. She had never seen one in person before. It was enormous, it's horns were sharpened to a fine point, and it's dark brown fur was stained in blood. At that moment she couldn't let out a scream, or a sound of any sort. Paralyzed with fear she just stood there, awaiting whatever terrible fate she was about to meet.

The beast let out an awful cry and Nyssa closed her eyes. '_Caw caw!_'. A lone Crow dive bombed the Reindeer. Clawing and pecking it's eyes. The beast, not able to defend itself ran away, trying to free itself from the bird. Nyssa, wasting no time, scurried into the school and used everything available to blockade the windows and door.

_'Jingle jingle ding-dong', 'Jingle jingle ding-dong', 'Jingle jingle ding-dong'..._

_ 'Jingle jingle ding-dong', 'Jingle jingle ding-dong'..._

_ 'Jingle jingle ding-dong'..._

A sound floated through the air, gentile bells in the distance getting closer, and closer. A loud '_thud_' on the roof of the school. Then a '_thud_' on the door. Followed by another. Then another. Finally the door was ripped off its hinges and thrown across the school yard. The blockade of desks, chairs, and shelves did nothing to slow whatever this beast was. This giant creature that was now grinning cheek to cheek and letting out a horrible laughter.

Anna, who was trapped inside her bedroom, watched from her window as the Reindeer destroyed everything in sight. Watching her neighbors, her friends, being thrown around like rag dolls, and she was powerless to do anything about it. Finally, she could take no more. She broke off a piece of wood from her dresser and used it to break open her window. Her first thought was Nyssa and if she was alright. She was stopped in her tracks when she heard the chiming of bells in the air. 'Could it be', she thought? Ignoring the ridiculous thoughts in her head Anna continued racing to the school, trying her best to avoid any and all Reindeer. More chiming of bells. Followed by more, and again by more. Louder and louder each time. The school was finally in sight. And there was something huge on the roof. Anna's heart nearly stopped. What was she looking at? What was this giant atop the school? Not caring for her own safety she ran as hard as she could. Hearing the screams of dozens of children. And then, silence. The door of the school ripped clean off and thrown across the school yard. And an empty school. No children, no Nyssa. Anna dropped to her knees screaming. What was happening?

**AN: Thank you for taking the time to read this. It's a huge departure from what I usually write and I had no idea what I was doing so any tips would be wonderful. The way I'm planing this out this will be a 3-4 part story. Then I want to move onto other characters set in the same world, with an overarching plot, until I eventually do an Avengers style team up or something. I tried planting a few 'Easter Eggs' of other stories I hope to write in this first chapter. Next chapter I bring in a few more Fairy Tale characters (Like Jack Frost).**


	2. Chapter 2: The Boy

The chaos lasted for what seemed like an eternity. People running scared, getting separated from their family's, trying to avoid being trampled. Many tried to seek refuge but no where was beyond the grasp of the Reindeer. Even more surprising then everything that happened was that no one was killed. Countless where seriously injured and in bad shape, but there was yet to be a report of a death.

After the attack ceased and the people thought it was all over word got to them that similar events had taken place at other areas of the Country. Chaldra is a large island country and is separated into several large cities. Chaldra, named after the island itself, and it's Capital. Spinerock, Nykthos, and Selesnya. Each city was attacked by Reindeer and other manner of beast from the Dark Forest. Each city had reports of a large demon like monster that took their children. Bells were said to be heard before each sighting.

The people of Chaldra demanded to know what was happening, and what was going to be done to get their children back. Citizens piled outside the King's castle awaiting some sort of explanation. All they were given however, was a couple of the King's Knights telling them that he couldn't address them himself because he was "Working on a plan" and required total concentration to do so. The good king however was doing no such thing.

"My lord, do you really wish to avoid something like this? They're just children". King Maron, a tall slender man with short brown hair. A man never meant to be king. He was given the throne for the sole reason that the young prince set to inherit it refused and left the kingdom. He puts on the act of a kind caring ruler but it was nothing but a farce.

"Just as you say councilor. They're just children. They serve no value to my kingdom besides taking up space and resources. Most of the school houses in the city were attacked, however not all of them. They're is still a great number of those pests running around. The parents will get over it. We just have to make them think we're doing something to help. And as always, I have the perfect plan".

While most of the townspeople were angrily looking for answers, Anna on the other hand was looking for something else. For the only person who could possibly help her to find her sister. Getting through the city was no easy ask after the attack. Buildings in ruins, roads destroyed, trees and other objects blocking every path. Trying to find one person in all of this was going to take some time. Time she couldn't afford to waste.

Not seeing him anywhere else, Anna went to Mr. Gold's home, hoping he'd be there. Mr. Gold's home received serous damage from the attack. There was an entire wall missing and there wasn't much roof left. This made it easier for her to get in at least. Sifting through the wreckage Anna came across a hatch in the floor. Opening it she discovered a tunnel that seemed to go on forever. She followed the torch filled path until she came across a door. Her efforts to open it were however, futile. Though, she thought she heard a faint whimpering sound coming from the other side.

"Mr Gold? It's me, Anna. Please. I need to talk with you". After a few moments the echo of multiple locks coming undone could be heard and the door slowly stared to open. Mr. Gold's face peaked out, as if he was expecting someone else to be there. Anna slowly stepped into the room. She was amazed by what she saw. A huge arsenal of weapons, huge maps covering every wall, armor thrown about everywhere. Why would he have all this? Unless all of those stories he told were true. A closer look at the maps showed they were all of the dark forest. Almost all of it, entirely mapped out.

"I spent my entire life trying to find him. Spending more time in that forest then not. I discovered so much, but never was I able to find him".

"Krampus?", Anna said nervously, not wanting it to be true. Mr. Gold nodded his head and grabbed a book off of a nearby table.

"This all happened 90 years ago. I was but a boy. Someone. Something. Attacked the town and stole the children. Somehow I was spared their fate, but my sisters were not. I spent years trying to figure out what took them. I came by the legend of Krampus and knew it was him. Stories told of him living in the Dark Forest, atop a mountain, hidden in the snow". Mr. Gold pointed to a blank spot on one of his maps. "This is where I think he is. The area is completely engulfed in a blizzard. It never stops, and I was never able to get past it. Now. Now I'm nothing but an old man. I can't bare the journey again". Without a second thought, Anna grabbed a spear hanging on the wall and with a stern look held out her hand. Mr. Gold could see the determination in her eyes. He knew she wouldn't take no for an answer. He handed over his journal and pulled off a map from his wall. There was a lot of preparation to be done if Anna was going to do this.

Later that night the King called a meeting to discuss what was going to be done about the children. He stood with a group of twelve men, clad in armor. It was announced they were the Kings "Elite Guard" and have volunteered to find the children, and whoever was responsible for taking them. The townspeople cheered and applauded the brave souls, who were virtually walking to their deaths in the forest for nothing. The King was using this to temporarily silence the people while his true plan began.

The men entered the forest, having absolutely no idea what to expect. They've all been here before, but this far in? No one goes this far in.

"What was that"? Snarls coming from every direction. The feint sound quick footsteps behind them. Regardless, they had to press on. They had a destination to reach, a map to follow. If only they knew.

"Ah!", one man gone.

"Where did he go!", no one heard anything but a scream. And then another. Two down. The men heard growling all around them. Running as fast as they could they tried to find any high ground they could, luckily coming across a river with a high forming rock base in it. A quick swim and climb later they had a great view of their surroundings. What troubled them is that they saw nothing. The daylight would only last another hour, max. They needed to find some way to protect themselves better.

One of the men, who was regularly sent into the forest to gather it's fruits, knew the valued Draco fruit was highly flammable. Risking life and limb he raced to a nearby tree to pluck as many as he could. Getting it to lite took no time at all, and they had fire. Stuck on a rock, in the middle of a river, what good would that do them? Before anyone could think of an answer, Snarls were again heard coming from all sides of them. Several Wolf like beasts came up to the water, but refused to get in it.

"They won't cross. So we only have to deal with the ones on ether side. Which way do we go"?

"We move forward, the map is very clear on were we must go. Question is, anyone know how to get past those Devils"? No one knew. They had fire, but again, what good would that do right now?

"Oh hell, one of them is going across!", indeed one of the beast was slowly walking into the water. Every few steps it took one back, until it was pushed in by a bigger member of it's pack. They were as safe as they could get on this rock platform, they didn't think the creature would be able to climb it and reach them. However, they'd never get to know. Something forced the beast under the water, and all that was left of it was it's blood coloring the water as it rushed by. The rest of the pack ran off, but they now had bigger issues to deal with. They were trapped, and they didn't know by what.

Not far from them was Anna, who was determined to find her sister and the children. She was more then capable with a weapon, and with a true map of the forest she held the best chance of finding them.

"Nice try!", she yelled while swinging her spear into the face of a wolf. It didn't stay down long and lunged at her. Her spear impaled it's stomach, killing it. Luckily this was a rather small one. Any bigger and it certainly wouldn't have gone so well for her. Anna hated the thought of killing any creature, but these were monsters. If she didn't kill them, they'd kill her.

Rustling all around, Anna knew she was surrounded. She knew running was no longer an option and there was no way she' be able to fight of a pack of these things. Still, knowing what was at stake, she held her ground. One came from her side. She hit it first. Another from the front. Again she managed to hit it first. But the third one got her from behind and she went down. Her armor took the front of the blow to her back, but it was still badly bruised. There were three, four, five of them surrounding her. How could it end like this? She was the only one who could save her sister. They one slowly approached her. She closed her eyes, now feeling the beast warm, fowl breath hit her face. The she prepared herself. When it howled she cringed, it was happening.

"Waaa!"... What?

"Waaa"! Were those cries? Anna opened her eyes and saw two of the wolfs on the ground, and a large man standing in front of her. He carried nothing but some sort of branch, a staff maybe? He was holding back all five, keeping them from her. Another pounced. His staff hit it square in the face. They all regrouped, now looking really pissed. They charged. The man quickly threw his hand on the ground and Anna's heart nearly stopped at what happened next. Icicles. Giant icicles. Emerged from the ground and surrounded the creatures. They were trapped. The man picked Anna up and ran off. The sound of the ice cracking echoed behind them.

"Don't worry, by the time they're able to break it we'll be long gone".

The man carried her to a cave, which he sealed off with a wall of ice. There was a large fire in the cave giving it a lot of light. He sat down next to her besides the fire. She immediately scooted away from him, to hurt to actually get up.

"Woh woh woh, calm down, don't move like that, you're hurt".

"Who are you, how did you do that?", Anna screamed, clenching her back.

"What did I just say? Calm down, you need to let me help you". He threw Draco fruit at her. "Since you won't trust me to do it, squeeze that on your back. The juice will help numb the pain a little". Anna was quick to do it. The pain in her back was being a major annoyance right now.

"What's your name?", she barked.

"Jack. Yours"?

"Anna. Why are you out here"?

"I live here. Have for a long time. Why are you here? This isn't exactly a nice neighborhood.", he said while biting into piece of fruit.

"My sister, and the children, were taken. I'm the only one who can save them".

"Krampus?", yelled Jack, now with a very serious look on his face. "I know it sounds crazy, but",

"No, I know about him, and yes. I saw him myself. I was told he was here in the Dark Forest. You... You don't know where he is do you"?

"Yes. He's been sitting in his castle ever since I've been here. I stumbled across it once and he confronted me for entering his land".

"Did you fight him"?

"No. He just told me never to return. I was told stories as a child. My uncle was always going on about these crazy tales. I never believed him. That is. Until I became one". The fruit in his hand turned to ice.

"You're power. How can you",

"I honestly don't know.", Jack interrupted. "My parents said I was born with it. I know there's more to it then that. Right now we need to get you home".

"No! I came her to save them and I'm not leaving until I do"!

"Anna, please, listen to", Anna held her spear against his throat.

"I'm not leaving Jack".

_'Cries in the distance'_

"What was that? I thought you said you were alone"?

"I am".

_'More screams in the distance'_

_ "_If there's others out there we need to help them Jack".

"I'll go check it out, you stay here.",Anna held her spear to his throat once more.

"Didn't we just go over this"? Jack couldn't help but smirk.


	3. Chapter 3: The Forest

Inside a dark, damp, and cold room, Nyssa sat on a hard stone floor alongside dozens and dozens of children, all whimpering and crying. She had to look strong for them, couldn't allow herself to break. However, that was a nearly impossible task. Every now and again the sound of long heavy chains dragging on the ground would echo throughout whatever room they were in. As if that wasn't enough, the bells, just like the ones that played before they were taken, followed the chains. And the laughter. The evil, dark laughter. All things considered, the children were actually holding up rather well. Who knows how long until that monster returns. Nyssa needed a plan. A good one. And fast.

Anna and Jack were racing through the forest, trying to find the location of the screams they were hearing. Anna was scrolling through her map to try and figure out where they could be. Jack on the the other hand had a pretty good idea. It wasn't long before they came upon the river and the stranded men.

"Oh, damn it.", Jack whispered. The men saw the pair approaching and signaled to stay away from the water. Anna, not paying attention, ran right up to it, looking for some way to help them. Jack, who was a little ways behind her, tried to catch up. Knowing what was in the river he knew how much danger she was in being that close and Anna would soon learn as well. A giant tentacle zipped out of the water and headed straight for her. Jack managed to tackle her to safety just in time.

"What was that!", Anna screamed.

"Trust me. You don't want to know". Jack ran to the River bank that raised his staff. "All of you, get ready to run over. This won't hold long so be quick alright"! He smashed his staff on the water, sending a frozen wave of ice across it. Completely in disbelief the men all stood still. The creature under the ice was making every effort to break it. "Hurry up!", Jack knew they had only seconds before his ice was broken. The men all made it over as the beast broke through. Jack took them all to his cave so they could rest, get warm, and put some food in themselves.

"So the king sent you in here? Why would he do such a thing?", Anna asked, puzzled by the Kings orders.

"He gave us a map. We were informed of the location of the children and were ordered to retrieve them". Jack looked over the Knight's map, and Anna compared it with her own.

"I'm sorry, but this is nonsense. None of this map is correct. I've lived here for years, I know this forest like the back of my hand. It seems the King has sent you on a wild goose chance. I'm sorry".

"The King... but why?", a hint of disbelief in the knights voice.

"Brother. It seems that there's more to the king then we knew. Sending us, his elite guard, to our deaths. After we swore to protect him and our home".

"I'm terribly sorry. Oh! We've not been properly introduced yet have we? My name is Anna, and this is Jack". The knights both stood and bowed as they introduced themselves.

"I am Jacob Grimm, and this is my younger brother Wilhelm".

"Please, call me Will ma'am". Anna stood and curtseyed the men while Jack shook their hands. The other knights were already sleeping around a fire, and Anna soon followed suit and tried to sleep herself.

Late that night, while everyone else was asleep, Jacob approached Jack, who was keeping guard by the entrance of the cave.

"Hello Jacob, can't sleep?", Jack Asked.

"Far to much on my mind to sleep tonight. I realized we never thanked you for saving our lives today. We are forever in your debt".

"Please, think nothing of it".

"So you know where the children are being held? Do you think we can really get them back"?

"Honestly I'm not sure. I know where they'll be, and I can get you there. However dealing with Krampus will be difficult".

"I still can't believe he really exists. I heard the stories as a child. My parent told them to my brother and I to scare us into behaving, now... now we're going to have to kill him to save the lives of all those children. It's all a little surreal isn't it? And then you! Meeting someone with some sort of cryokinetic powers. Seems like we're in some sort of fairy tale".

"Yeah, something like that".

In town the King was preparing for his grand plan to come forth.

"My lord, please, I beg you to reconsider what you're about to do.", his councilor pleaded. King Maron was enjoying a small glass of whine while looking over his kingdom. "I just don't understand how your plan helps you is all".

"It's simple really. The best warriors in the kingdom are gone, and the city will need protecting. I've already become a hero to these people, a disaster like the one I'll unleash on the city, it'll get worldwide attention. Once I stop it my name will be known everywhere".

"But sir, how do you plan on saving the city from those monstrosities"?

"Oh don't you worry about that my friend. Everything has been put into motion. Very soon the city will be in need of a hero, and I will be the only one who knows how to save it. Get some rest. We have a busy day tomorrow".

Just as the sun was starting to rise, Jack woke the group up. After the moaning and complaining he explained how most of the dangerous creatures here were nocturnal and they'd need to take advantage of this time. Consulting Anna's map and Jack's knowledge of the forest they found the quickest path to get to Krampus's castle.

"Mr. Gold said there was a never ending blizzard surrounding the castle. How are we going to get threw it Jack"?

"I can control ice and snow. I can make us a path. The blizzard actually helps us a lot. It'll protect us from being seen by the monsters he keeps guarding his castle".

The group traveled most of the day without stopping. Jack kept reinforcing the whole "We'll die at night" thing, which was pretty motivating.

"How long have they been following us?", Will whispered to Jacob.

"Almost half an hour. Didn't want to scare everyone by saying anything. They've kept a distance, stalking us". The brothers stayed at the back of the group in case whatever beast was following them decided to attack.

"Jack, I was thinking. You said you life here, that means you probably lived in Chaldra at some point too, right"?

"Yes Anna, I did, for a long time. Why do you ask"?

"I just can't understand why someone would leave a place like that, for a place like this. What would make you want to do it"?

"Well. The short version is I hurt someone I loved, and I couldn't stay there anymore".

"Who was",

"Everyone stop!", Jack interrupted. "We're being followed".

"They've been following us for nearly half an hour.", Will shouted to Jack.

"No, not them".

"You knew of them?", Jacob asked.

"Of course. It's hard to miss. Something is following them. We have to pick up the pace, now. It's almost sundown and if we get caught in the dark we're done for".

"What is it!", one of the knights asked, frantically shaking. "Reindeer"?

"God I wish it was just them." Jack make a wall of ice behind them in an attempt to slow anything behind them down.

'Arugh!'

The cries of several animals, not far behind them, crying in pain. The group sprinted off quickly not wanting to get caught by whatever was coming.

"Ahh!", one of the knights in front of the group got tackled into the trees. His gargled screams faded quick. Whatever hit him did it quick, and no one was able to get a look at it.

"Oh god, help me!", another knight vanished into the trees. Soon it was down to just Anna, Jack and the brothers. Whatever was chasing them seemed to get their fill from their lost comrades and backed down. At least for now.

Being careful of what may be lurking behind them, the group of now only four, found themselves inside a growing snowstorm, that seemingly came out of nowhere. They were getting close to Krampus. Which means they were close to the children, and Nyssa.

King Maron was anxiously awaiting the moment in which he would be enacting his grand plan.

"I cannot wait any longer councilor. I will return shortly, please, do not leave this castle, you'll be safe here". The king opened a locked door in his throne room and continued down a long spiraling staircase that lead him deep down into a cave hidden far bellow the castle. Growling echoed throughout the cave, glowing red eyes appeared on the ceiling. King Maron made his way to a podium with a bowl placed on top of it. "Witch, I know you're here. Show yourself". A woman appeared out of the shadows of the cave and bowed to the king. "Alright Witch, I've given you everything you've needed to create these monsters, now, show me how to control them". The woman tossed some plants, liquids, and other 'ingredients' into the bowl. "What, is that it"?

"Now, it needs your blood".

"Excuse me"?

"Blood willingly given, it's the last ingredient to the spell. They will be bound to you after this". Maron took out his dagger and quickly sliced his palm, and let the blood drip into the bowl. "Wonderful. That's all there is to it. The creatures are now yours to command".

"Hm, that simple? Fantastic. Alright, my army, go, attack the city, destroy everything in your path. After some time I will call them all off all and my name shall be known the world over, the slayer of the Gargoyles! Now go"! The creatures dropped from the ceiling and flew down a tunnel in the cave, making their way to the unsuspecting city.


End file.
